First submissions to CMON and wanting to improve

[ScorpionCleric]

Hey all.

First time poster here and also only recent first time submissions to the site..

http://www.coolminiornot.com/362643

My first post i popped up was a Draznicht model from GW, i previously had been trying to learn new skills, blending techniques so i thought sod it ill go all out on this guy and see how it goes..
I was pleased with him for my first attempt at not painting for over 2 years properly, but as i watched the score fluctuate widely and settle around 5 it pushed me to improve upon what i had done and became quiet critical of the model.

So i went away and tried harder and again tried new things with the next couple of models, which happened to be a Howling Griffons Captain, and a War torn Deathwing Terminator.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/364818

http://www.coolminiornot.com/365500

Im very happy with how they cam out and was ecstatic at the scores, how ever i want to improve more and hopefully pip the 7 score mark at least with the next couple..

Please help with any tips when looking at the minis, with what i can improve and try differently, open to any suggestions

Also have a pin vice now and so will be drilling barrels from now , thank you in advance and hope to chat soon.

 

[Bailey03]

Yeah, I can definitely see an improvement with the 2nd and 3rd figure. The painting on the last two feels much cleaner or crisper. I also like the chipping effect you did on the terminator. It's a very nice touch.

Now I'd recommend working on your shading and highlighting. If you're not familiar with zenithal lighting here's a good article from Massive Voodoo:
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2010/08/tutorial-zenithal-lightning-work-order.html
Basically it's where to place your highlights and shadows. Now the other part of that is getting smooth transitions between the two. The standard approach is to use thinned paint and gradually layer in the transitions. An alternative approach that would be to use a drying retarder for your acrylics and do wet blending (basically treating the acrylics more like oil paints and blending on the mini). Take a look at some tutorials on blending and see what technique makes the most sense to you, then start practicing with that.

Here are two example space marines I grabbed from the gallery. The first one is simple, nothing flashy, just nice smooth transitions and good contrast between light and dark.
http://www.coolminiornot.com/262603
The second one has a bit more to it, the painter has added some weathering scratches. But still nice smooth transitions and good placement of highlights and shadows.
http://www.coolminiornot.com/309732

Smooth blending, correct placement of highlights and shadows, and a decent range between shadows and highlights are tough skills to master. I think just about everyone on this forum (myself included) is still trying. Your goal should be to make each figure better than the last, even if it's just a slight improvement. Keep pushing the contrast and trying to get smooth blending.

Oh, and most importantly don't worry too much about your gallery score. We've all had instances where we know our latest figure is an improvement over the previous one but it then gets a lower score. Voting is not that precise, so don't fixate on the exact score. You can look at the general trend (on average is it going up) but don't get discouraged if your last figure got a 6.9 and the next one a 6.7. When we can only vote 6,7,8 etc those point something scores are going to fluctuate.

 

[Zab]

I going to agree with Bailey - especially over the scores. In fact, I recently turned off the scores. Also, try painting different scales and subjects to improve. I have found that if you paint everything you tend to learn more. Besides, you find new things you love. For so long I was only about 40k, turns out I love fantasy minis almost as much (maybe even more). Busts, flats, anime kits, chibi, historical - try it all!

 

[ScorpionCleric]

Thank you Bailey for the in depth explanation on how to move forward, will definitely be researching into Zenithal lighting alot more on the next miniature i go forward and do , and im glad you liked the chipping i did on the terminator, for the first attempt i was quiet pleased.

Those examples deifinitely help to show the amazing uses of it, and i am trying to not look at the scores to much, as it does seem to be a popularity contest more than anything lol.

Thank you Zab as well, and i have started to move away from GW all ready, i only paint for fun and not to play so i have been trying my hand at Hasslefreeminis, Infinity, Warmachine and scale 75 bits as well, i have lots of models that are very much in progress, and some i have no stopped painting until i can do a new skill.

I have also stepped into the realms of pigments, so hopefully my next miniature, even though it may take a while, should include some new things like zenithal lighting and weathered areas .

 

[ten ball]

Yep good advice from bailey & zab :good:
You can really see the improvement on your minis, well done.

 

[Canny]

Its the little things that net you big improvements. Keep up the good work. the above posts are golden.

 

[Kretcher]

I agree nice post above, and also if you want to you can post a WIP thread here to hopefully get some comments that will help you in the right direction.

/K